The Show Must Go On
by Matrix234
Summary: A series of unrelated one shots set post Neverland. Based on prompts from tumblr. Ratings may vary. There was a storm, a mirror and the belief that everyone deserves a happy ending.
1. Another Hero, Another Mindless Crime

Hi everybody! It's been a while! EEEK!

Set post Neverland. "No. You don't get to be angry because people are coming to you for help"

Disclaimer – Oh Gods how I wish they were mine. Alas they belong to Adam and Eddy.

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Another Hero. Another Mindless Crime.

There was a storm in the air. That was what he will always remember about that night. It was cold, dreary and dark. The sun had barely set and already the evening fog drew in around the docks. It did nothing for his mood. He clasped the flask of rum in his one good hand tighter as his hook braced himself against the window frame. His head was resting against the aged glass as if it could cool his skin where the headache was making his brain boil.

When _he_ became the saviour of the bloody town he didn't know. No that was HER job. He just had to be all noble and righteous and offer his ship and service to the whole sodding town – and it was giving him a headache. He moved his neck from side to side to try and alleviate the ache there. The tell-tale sign that something dark was coming. He hadn't survived 300 years without some life saving instincts and at that moment he was ignoring all of them.

Ever since arriving back from Neverland he had been playing this game of chess with her. Trying to outthink the other, surprise the other. Now that Henry was finally safe – or as safe as this town allowed – she was finally coming around to the idea that they could have something. That didn't stop her from avoiding the topic altogether if she could help it. Hence the game of chess.

It stated off as a simple unconscious act on his part. He gave her his coat. She was standing next to him at the helm as they arrived into the realm, Henry protected by a circle of Neal, Regina and herself all bracing him for the landing. As they approached the docks of Storybrooke she had shivered with the sudden change in climate. He hadn't even thought twice about it. He let go of the wheel, shrugged out of his coat and draped it around her without flourish or pronouncement and then went back to the wheel.

Nothing more was said. The townsfolk had greeted the returning heroes and he was left on his ship. Alone to brood with a bottle of rum. It was only when he awoke did he find his coat hanging over the desk with a square yellow piece of paper sticking to it with the simple statement "Thank you x". He had no clue who or what the 'x' meant but it was a start. As was the cup of brown liquid sitting next to it in a paper cup. He decided he liked hot chocolate that day.

The first time he saw her in town she was heading for the diner run by the she-wolf and her kin. He followed keeping a distance. Observed (as stealthily as one could in a small town with a curious population) what she ate. The next time she entered the diner he had already ordered her food and drink, paid for it and left instructions that anything else she ordered was to come out of his money. He received a new bottle of rum left on his ship.

So it went on for weeks. Each trying to plan ahead, each trying to show the other that they noticed things about the other, that they cared enough to do things for the other. He had always believed in actions over words.

Bae- Neal kept to his promise about fighting for her, but he found the more he observed her the less time they actually spent together, the more tense their smiles became around each other and normally Henry was there to act as a buffer between them. She seemed to direct the true smiles to her parents, Regina on occasion and even himself. He had hope.

And then that fateful day came when the townsfolk gathered in the diner, terrified and panicking. The Charmings trying to keep everyone calm and Henry demanding to help because he was sick of everyone saving _him; _Regina was insisting that an aligance between herself and the crocodile was strong enough to keep this new curse at bay; and Emma...Emma had slipped out of the door.

He hadn't failed to notice that despite the brave words of her parents insisting that they would save them all, despite the tentative approval the townsfolk had given Regina – all eyes were on Emma. Out of the corner of their eyes they had looked at her for help. For salvation. So before he knew what he was doing; before he could censor the words coming out of his mouth he had offered his ship and services _again _to get them out. They had a healthy collection of beans now afterall.

He hadn't expected to organize the whole bloody evacuation of the town or to tell people "No you cannot bring your cat" or "I really don't think the Enchanted Forest has somewhere you can 'plug in' your Ipod" His personal favourite was when one of the dwarves had asked if his ship was large enough to hold his car.

So here he was, alone in his cabin, facing a horizon as dark as this thoughts, hating that not one of the heroes had offered him help. He decided that they were waiting for him to fail. Plotting a plan B and C behind his back when his heroic and flawed attempt failed. The more he thought about it the more pissed he became with the whole situation and the ever growing lack hope that he could get everyone out in time.

He was so engrossed in his spiral into anger that he hadn't heard the door to his cabin open. Bad form Jones he thought to himself, allowing his guard to be so down. She stood and observed him a moment.

"My parents would like to know when you think you can take the first lot of people through" He didn't know why but every word pissed him off that much more. Each word driving home the fact that he was the one that was supposed to save them all. All because he couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"Soon" He didn't look around. Just took another swig from his rum and continued to stare out at sea.

"I know you're angry but –"

"You have no clue how I'm feeling Swan. I've answered your question" His voice was too calm, too controlled and the 'Now go' was implied. He would never tell her to leave outright. It wasn't in him. He was a gentleman after all and he was coming dangerously close to losing his temper as it was.

"You feel like this responsibility has been dropped on your shoulders and it could crush you at any moment." Her voice was soft, warm inviting him to let go of the anger he desperately clung to. He spun around and without warning or preamble threw the flask across the room. Emma didn't flinch just followed the movement with her eyes as though she was expecting it.

"I suggest you leave Swan" It was the repeat of her last name that told her she was right. He never called her that anymore, not in all the notes he left in his elegant scrawl, not in all the times she had invited him to Grannies for a hot chocolate. This was not Killian Jones standing in front of her, chest heaving – this was Captain Hook and she knew what she had to do.

"Why? So you can continue to hide away drinking rum?"

He turned back around to the window hand clenched at his side and jaw working overtime in an effort not to shout at her. His damn stubborn - for -all -the –wrong- reasons –Swan was going to be the death of him. He'd end up biting his own tongue off at this rate.

"I won't ask again"

He saw her in the reflection of the mirror watching him with those calculating eyes calmly, eyes which saw every part of him that he wanted to hide away. She was a vision, golden hair falling in waves over her shoulders and part way down her black coat which she had wrapped tightly around herself. Any other day he would continue to stare at her, but her light only reminded him of the darkness of his thoughts.

"You haven't spoken to them have you? You have no idea what they are saying about you." He had no idea who the 'them' was meant to be, all he knew was that whoever it was would not have anything positive to say about him. He wished he hadn't thrown away his rum.

"Why would I do that? Are you done, love? Because I've got planning to do" At least it was a step up from 'Swan' she thought.

"They believe in you Killian. You're their sav-" He was across the room and in front of her quicker than she could blink. His eyes were dark with fury and the muscle in his jaw was straining, he pointed his hook at her.

"No! _You _are their saviour and a grand job you're doing of it! I just took the bullet for you because you're too bloody scared to do it yourself" She refused to back down. She had known it was coming. From the moment she left the diner under the weight of all of those stares.

She had known deep down that he would step up, offer to take her place to spare her from yet another expectation she was afraid to live up to. In one selfish moment she had left him alone knowing what he would do. She swallowed and met his eyes.

"I know" That seemed to take the wind out of his sails and he once again retreated to the window, pausing briefly to pick up the discarded flask of rum.

"If there is anything else I can do for you, Princess, let me know" It was a dismissal as clear as any she had heard, but the use of Princess cut her more painfully than anything had in a long time.

"You don't get to be angry because people are coming to you for help; that people see you as someone who can save them." She turned her back on him, unwilling for him to see the tears in her eyes, hand gripping the door with shaking fingers as she paused a fraction longer than she intended keeping her voice steady. "I can't be this town's saviour Killian. But I can be yours"

She was out of the door and halfway across the deck before he caught up with her and grabbed her arm spinning her around to face him. He could still see where marks on her face where the tears had fallen.

"What the bloody hell is that supposed to mean?" he was shouting over the wind that buffeted their bodies, he hair whipping in his face as he stared her down.

"It means that you saved Henry. The least I can do is save you from..." She wouldn't look him in the eyes, refused to allow him to see that that was only a partial truth. She prayed his anger would blind him from what she was hiding, after all neither of them had gotten to where they were without being able to stop a lie.

"I don't need you saving me out of some misplaced sense of gratitude, Princess" It was like a slap to the face. She didn't realize she needed him to call her out on her lie until he hadn't. He was already storming into his cabin by the time she got her feet to more cursing pirates in all the languages she knew (which wasn't many),

She slammed the cabin door open ready to begin her triad about stubborn pig headed pirates when she heard a sickening crack and a thump as he fell to the floor clutching his head that was bleeding down his cheer.

"Bloody HELL woman! If this is your idea of saving me then you are truly hopeless" The words said out of pain and anger still hurt, even when she pulled him off the floor and pushed him so he was sitting on his desk she did so with more force than was strictly required.

"Shut up. Let me look" The cut was small but deep, she turned his head towards the light and poked it gently causing him to hiss through his teeth. She told him to stay whilst she retrieved his rum and removed a tissue from her pocket. With a grimace of sympathy she poured the rum into the tissue and used it to dab gently at the wound. For his part he simply kept his head still, refusing to look at anything in particular, refusing to speak. The air was uncomfortable at best.

"I'm sorry" she tried to pour all the gentleness her voice didn't hold into her touch, wishing more than ever that she knew how to control her magic and heal him. Remove all the hurt from him. But she couldn't. All she had was her words and she had never been very good at that.

"I'm sure I'll live" The tone was clipped, showing more than just pain. He clenched and unclenched his fist as she cleaned the wound.

"Not just about this. I ..." she took a deep breath, one that didn't go unnoticed by her patient who kept quiet "I wasn't implying that you couldn't save us or that you needed to be saved. I certainly wasn't implying that it was just done out of gratitude. I just know what it's like to be thrust into that position, to have the whole town rely on you when you don't have a clue what to do"

She stopped to swallow, turn the tissue to a clean side and pressed it against his head once more. He let her have this time, processing the words she had already said. He knew what it took for her to say them.

"I haven't forgotten what you said to me in the cave. I guess I was just trying to give you hope. That you wouldn't have to do this on your own, that you are worth trying to save" Her voice was small. He could barely hear above the wind and the rain lashing the boat but he heard her loud and clear.

He grabbed her hand and brushed his lips over the back of it. It was a long time before either moved or spoke. His anger sweeping away like the wind as he inhaled the smell of the sea on her coat mixed with just a hint of cinnamon. It was better than rum.

"So together then?" Three words were all it took for him to see her smile. A true smile. It was that smile more than anything that chased away the rest of his dark thoughts. She brought her other hand to his face and pushed away his hair from the wound, letting it linger there far longer than she needed to"

"Together, Captain" she confirmed. He used the hand holding hers to bring her closer to him, between his legs where he rested on the desk. She raised her eyebrows at him but didn't fight or comment.

"I don't mean to upset you Emma, but we have always made quite the team" His smirk was enough to bring the spark back to her eyes. Her Captain was still in there, he hadn't been taken from her by a selfish moment on her part. When she kissed him this time it was soft, sweet and an apology for everything that she had set into motion.

He arched a single eyebrow at her, his brilliant blue eyes dancing with mischief and she knew what he was going to say before he said it. This is why she shut him up with the next kiss. Their third, and if this method of shutting him up proved to be as effective as it seemed she was sure it was not her last with him.

"You should go tell your parents that I'll take the first lot over at dawn" he breathed against the lips as his forehead rested against hers. He refused to let her go yet. Afraid it was some rum induced stupor (The effects of her fingers carding through his hair were something even his imagination couldn't have concocted though) but knowing she would need time to process what just happened.

She nodded against him and backed away flicking her eyes to his head one last time and taking a deep breath before leaving.

"And tell them that the bloody dwarves go last" he shouted after her.

"As you wish" the smile and small laugh behind the words blinded him as she disappeared from view. Yes there was a storm in the air. It was cold, dreary and dark. The sun had barely set and already the evening fog had drawn in around the docks. There was a curse heading for them enacted by an evil more terrible than the crocodile. But there was hope. There was his saviour. That is what he will remember most of all. 

xxxxx


	2. Behind the Curtains

**Behind the Curtains **

Ok, so the oneshot turned into 2. A third is coming. This is my contribution to the C/S fluff mont hover on Tumbr.

Disclaimer: Still Adam and Eddies.

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Promp: C/S Fluff They are engaged. Its the day of the wedding. A conversation of your choice between them through a closed door before the ceremony

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Everything was set. She couldn't have asked for a more perfect day really. All things considered. The sea was calm, not that it mattered this close to the dock. The sky was blue and the air barely held a trace of the cold that still hadn't dissipated from winter. Then again what did she expect when Snow White was in charge of her wedding? She had a sneaky suspicion that Henry (on orders from Snow) had begged Regina to keep the weather from freezing everyone on the deck of the Jolly Roger. There was not a speck of dust covering the whole ship, even the sails looked whiter.

But she couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't quite right.

Emma was checking over her appearance in the full length mirror that adorned the Captain's quarters (Killian had been banished to the store room of all places to get ready along with Charming – best man in place of his brother). It was not the first time she had worn the dress. In fact between all the fittings she just _had _to have ("Emma – It has to be perfect") this was about the fifteenth time she had worn it.

But it was the first time she had really looked at herself in it. Hair gently curled and a braid running over her crown which was fitted with a tiara and veil. Her make-up and nails done tastefully (courtesy of Ruby and Belle) and the small silver anchor necklace Killian had given her around her neck. She looked like a princess. She looked like a stranger.

But the stranger looked happy. There was a smile on her face that never faltered, a rosy blush to her cheeks that had nothing to do with make-up and she seemed to glow from the inside. This was a woman on the brink of her happy ending.

Yet something still felt wrong. Something was trying to get her attention just at the periphery of her mind and it was annoying her. She ran her hand over the anchor, an unconscious gesture she had picked up when he had placed it around her neck, self consciously ducking his head when he realized he couldn't do the clasp with his one hand.

She had loved him more in that moment than all the times in Neverland or after. Her pirate. Her saviour...her

It hit her like lightening and the room suddenly felt colder and all she could think about was getting to the store room. Her mother had given her a few minutes to prepare herself and for her to run around the ship for the hundredth time making sure a seat cover hadn't flown away in the nonexistent breeze. Picking up the bottom of her dress she chanced a look out of the door, when she was confident no one was making an appearance she ducked out of the room as stealthily as she could in a wedding dress and walked the familiar path to the store room.

She paused for only a second before she knocked on the closed door. David, in all his charming, princely glory opened the door and his eyes widened comically as he practically slammed the door shut before Killian could see who it was.

"Emma is everything okay? What are you doing here? Does Snow know you're here?" The words were rushed, whispered and filled with a desperate need to protect her from whatever had made her leave the Captain's quarters.

"I'm fine I just need to speak to Killian"

"What? Why? You're not calling off-"

"No!" that was louder than she intended. They both cast a weary glance towards the thick door of the store and when nothing seemed to happen she looked at her father who was practically itching to draw her into a hug. "No just, could you get him to come to the door. I don't want him to see me but I need to talk to him. Please?"

David looked at her critically, first her eyes, then her mouth and then shook his head in an exasperated manner telling her to wait there before disappearing behind the door. He reappeared a few seconds later looking both worried and confused.

"I'll just be... stalling your mother" He pressed a kiss to her head as he sloped off.

"Emma? You alright lass? Your father said you wanted to talk" His voice held just as much confusion as panic and she could practically feel his hand on the door handle itching to rip it open.

"I'm fine. I just needed...Let me talk okay? Because I need to say this before anything else happens today"

"Else? Love; what's happened?" She let out a breathy chuckle and shook her head remembering that a lifetime of giving orders meant that he was quite bad at following them

"Killian!"

His contrite 'sorry' melted her heart and before she knew it her hand was placed on the door where she just knew his head was resting and she was glad he couldn't see her close her eyes and take a deep breath to prepare herself for this.

"I realized something today. Something that really hadn't occurred to me before. Something that I couldn't marry you without you knowing" She took another deep breath, practically absorbing the nervous energy seeping out of the door that separated them.

"I've called you a pirate so many times and I know it affects you every time I do. I guess I hoped that you'd come to see it as an affectionate pet name"

"Pet? Swan are you calling me an animal?" if the reuse of her (by this point almost scarcely used) last name hadn't made her regret her word choice the outrage in his tone would have.

"No! No. Sorry, it's this worlds term for...I guess the best comparison is term of endearment" There was a short pause waiting for him to say something, anything, to let her know that she hadn't screwed up.

"As you were saying, Love"

"Right, I uh, I needed to tell you that I can't marry a pirate. That I'm not in love with a pirate" She touched her anchor necklace with the hand not pressed against the door gathering her courage.

"Emma..."

"I'm in love with a good man. I'm marrying a good man" She interrupted his heartbroken voice and grabbed hold of the door handle to stop him opening it when it started to turn. The rattling stopped and she chocked back the lump in her throat "I couldn't get married today without you knowing that. You're a good man Killian. I'm sorry I never told you before now"

She refused to let the tears ruin her make-up as she waited for whatever reply she knew was coming, steeling her heart against everything from denial to heartbreak. She had only ever made him speechless one time, when she first told him she loved him. His method of reply wasn't really appropriate at the moment.

"Gods, don't scare me like that Lass. This hearts a fair bit older than yours and not likely to survive something like this again! I love you, Emma." his voice was shaky, and the feeling that something was wrong was lifted from Emma like removing a cloak. She knew at that moment he had needed to hear the words.

"I love you too, Killian," she said, knowing she'd spend the rest of her life showing him just how good of a man she thought he was.

"You should head back up Love, your father can only keep your mother busy for so long. Besides I can't wait to see you in that dress, lass," he added and she could hear the old Captain come back. Captain. Not pirate, and it made her smile.

"You should see what's under it" she flirted back through the door and held onto the door handle tighter when it gave a sudden shake. She gave a watery laugh as she pressed her cheek to the door. "Might be fun seeing if your old heart can handle it"

"Aye, but it's not my _heart _you need worry about lass. A man can only take so much teasing"

Emma could practically see him smirking through the door. She bit her bottom lip imagining all the ways he could punish her for teasing him and found that the thrill of finding out was worth any amount of fuss and lectures she would have to put up with when her mother discovered her missing.

"Bring it on, Captain" She walked away listening to the sound of him laughing and finally everything was perfect. This was the start of her happy ending and as she slipped back into the Captain's quarters she fought very hard to look apologetic as her mother glared at her. The smile betrayed her.

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Reviews anyone?


	3. Of The Pantomime

**Of The Pantomime **

I love these prompts. If you would like to submit one there is a link on my profile.

Promt: Jesus doesn't exsist in the EF so when Emma says "Jesus" in bed Hook gets jealous

Disclaimer: I want them. But they are not mine

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... She wasn't even sure what she was saying, her mind disconnecting from her body with the onslaught of pleasure. She was on the edge, balancing on that knife point he was so talented at placing her on – and then he was gone. She felt a shiver run through her colder than the sea of Neverland.

She knew he could be a bastard in bed but normally it was a result of some action on her part (most often intentional) that brought that side out. He had never been downright cold before. She watched as he grabbed his pants off the floor and left, door slamming behind him.

It took her a few seconds for her brain to reengage and she was up, wrapping the sheet around herself as she tore the door open prepared to keep him in the apartment by any means necessary.

He had fought for her just as he had promised, the months after Neverland had been interesting to say the least. Through everything he had kept his promise to not use tricks. He had been painfully honest with her (She vowed never to ask him if clothes made her look fat again) and in the end she realized that she didn't need to make a choice. There was nothing to choose between.

Her and Neal worked better as friends. Too much water had passed under the bridge for anything to happen between them. It had taken several weeks to come to that conclusion but when she did, he was on the same page as her. Henry had taken the news remarkably well, asking only if they both still loved him. The hug that followed was purely platonic.

With every day that passed Hook had found some way to talk to her. They met for coffee ("You're world actually drinks this vile stuff?") most mornings and if they didn't they would find some excuse to meet. She found herself seeking his opinion more and more. Laughing at his bemusement of the modern technologies he was faced with. One smile from him and her day suddenly became brighter. He hadn't pressed for anything else, content just to spend time with her.

Until the day he failed to meet her for coffee at the designated time. It was in those few minutes she sat at their usual booth with 2 cups and a bear claw untouched, that she realized that if he were to leave she would be heartbroken. It was as though something broke inside of her. White heat raced through her body from the crown of her head to her little toe. White heat followed by sick feeling of dread.

She all but ripped the diner door off the hinges in her haste to find him when she ran into his chest. His arms came around her to hold them steady as she found her footing again and he stared at her in confusion. She punched him in the chest.

Before he could ask what was going on, why she was so upset or why she was running out of the diner like she was being chased, her arms were flung around his neck and she was holding him so close that he could feel her heartbeat through the many layers of clothing. He looked over her shoulder at Granny who just shook her head fondly and poured another coffee for a dwarf before his good hand held her head to his shoulder.

They both stood in the door for several minutes clinging to each other as though the other was about to disappear. She was muttering words into his neck but he didn't care. This was the first time in over 3 centuries that he had been held.

When she pulled back her cheeks were an interesting shade of pink and she refused to meet his eyes. He cleared his throat.

"I go held up. You thought I'd lef-"

"No!" Half the diner turned at looked at her as she practically shouted the word at him. He watched her eyes for any trace of a lie. Finding none, he drew his eyebrows together confused. She turned and shot the diners a glare before dragging him to their usual booth, sitting across from him but refusing to let go of his hand.

"No, I thought something might have happened to you" She played with the coffee cup in front of her as she processed the words. She was still reeling from her own personal revelation. "I know you wouldn't leave...especially now you've won"

His hand flinched in hers, whole body going rigid. His eyes held such hope and confusion and love that she knew at that moment she had made the right choice. How could she have possibly thought there was any other way this ended for them?

"I thought it wasn't a competition" His voice was soft. Still not quite believing what he was hearing.

"It wasn't. Not really" The irredecent smile she was rewarded with echoed her own. They had coffee that morning knowing that something big had changed. Neither minded.

In the following months they found that they made a great team in and out of bed. That devious streak that he held proved to be her undoing. Her playful side was his. The stubborn nature of both forcing the other to up their games to draw out responses, but when they did it was because they worked for it and they found it much more rewarding.

So when he just left in the middle of some of the best sex that they had had in a while she was concerned.

She found him reaching up into the cupboard they stored the alcohol in, forgoing the glass as he gulped down several mouthfuls whilst leaning against the counter.

"Killian?" Her voice caused him to slam the glass down on the counter and she was immensely glad that Henry was at Regina's house and her parents were...well she didn't want to think about that.

"Go back to the bed, Swan" She flinched and not just because of the cold breeze sweeping through the room.

"Not without you" She tried to keep her voice as confident as she could. She had no idea what had caused this reaction from him but she was damn well not leaving him until she found out. He took another mouthful of the liquid.

"Or perhaps you'd prefer this 'Jesus' follow instead" he snapped, cold, hard eyes she had not seen since she left him on the giants beanstalk froze her in place. He walked up to her, she could smell the alcohol on his breath and he leaned in closer.

"I never imagined you'd be so cruel as to lead a man on, love. Does my name fall from your lips when you are with him?" Her eyebrows rose and there was nothing that could have stopped the laughter that rose from her stomach.

Her life was never going to stop surprising her. As hard as she tried to stop herself she carried on laughing. The sheer absurdity of the situation preventing her from noticing the hurt that pieced his eyes. Never in her wildest dreams could he ever have imagined that she would be sleeping with Captain Hook...or explaining to him who Jesus was in quite these circumstances. Her hand reached out to the sofa to steady herself as she gasped for breath and tears fell from her eyes.

He looked less than amused.

She snapped out of it and grabbed his arm as he reached for the apartment door.

"Please, I'm sorry, just...give me 2 minutes to explain" He looked ready to argue, ready to tell her that there was no explanation necessary for her calling out another man's name but he simply glared at her hand on his arm and didn't move.

"Okay, it's not what you think. Jesus is one of this world's Gods. Well, the son of God. At least according to some. I never really believed in God. But then again I didn't think fairy tales were real. Maybe he is real but I didn't..."

"He is the son of a God?" The utter defeat in his eyes told her that he was taking this the wrong way. All this time she had been worried that her insecurities would drive him away. She never realised that his own were just a valid problem. He still saw himself as one armed pirate. How could he compete with the son of a God?

"He isn't real. At least, I don't think he is. People use his name as a prayer...or a curse." She pulled him away from the door, he put up minimal fight. She sat him on the sofa as she took both his hand and hook in her hands.

"Killian, I choose you. I love you. Why would I want someone else?" She knew she wasn't overly liberal with the 'L' word but seeing his face alight with wonder at her declaration told her that she would have to start telling him every day. He reversed her hold on him, taking her hand and brushing his lips over her knuckles reverently.

"So there is no one else?"

"No" She said softly as she drew his lips to hers. Showing him her love for him more than words ever could. He returned it with a fierceness he hadn't shown before as though he could erase all names but his from her mouth. When he pulled back it was to reveal an infuriating smirk on his face

"So if I understand you Lass, you called out to a deity when I was pleasuring you" She rolled her eyes and leant against his shoulder with a groan. Normally she would shoot him down with some sarcastic retort but considering his ego had suffered a considerable dent – albeit not through any fault of hers – she decided to let him have this one.

"You're proud of yourself aren't you?" He drew his fingers though her hair brining her head away from his shoulder. His smile was worth everything that she knew would come from it. He leaned into her, whispering in her ear in that tone that sent shivers racing through her and made her blood boil with need.

"Aye, I wonder how many other deities I can get you to call out to" When her eyes finally opened and her breathing once again under control she was surprised to find herself alone on the sofa. She found him leaning against the stairs with that damn irritating smirk plastered on his face. He raised an eyebrow in challenge and raced up the stairs laughing dodging the pillow that landed in the spot he had occupied.

"Bloody pirate" she muttered to herself as she chased him up the stairs, letting out a shriek of surprised laughter as he grabbed her around the middle and threw her onto the bed. They _both _ called out to several Gods that night.

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More soon! R+R x


	4. On and On

**On and On**

A huge thank you to those who have reviewed and favourited!

This one is based off of 2 prompts because they would not leave me alone!

1) Hook and Emma share a heart to heart where she comforts him (kiss of your choice at the end)

2) Hook watches Peter Pan for the first time.

I know it's pretty much customary to do a "Hook watches Peter Pan" Hopefully I've put a new spin on things.

Disclaimer - Not mine. Never will be sadly.

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Considering the entire town of Storybrooke consisted solely of fairytale characters, very few of them had ever watched their namesake on film. Granted the town had been cursed to remain in a frozen loop for 28 years meaning that deliveries of DVDs and cable TV were limited at best, but overall the town remained blissfully ignorant of their cultural impact.

That was until Henry decided to organize a "Town Movie" night at Granny's. With Ruby and Snow's help he had managed to track down and purchase almost every Disney and fairytale film out there, organize a projector to play it on and invited the entire town to watch.

This was how Captain Hook came to find himself perched on a flimsy white chair in an overcrowded diner. He had been hearing word all around town of a gathering, but having received no invitation he assumed it was heroes only - until found Emma on the deck of the Jolly Roger leaning against the rail watching the sea.

x CS x

It hadn't exactly been a long time since he last saw her, but he was beginning to find that any amount of time not in her company was having a detrimental effect on his mood. So when he found her, coat buttoned up, scarf wrapped tightly around her neck and a simple hat pulled over her head, leaning over the side of the Roger, he felt elated.

"You are supposed to ask permission before boarding a man's vessel, Lass. Tis bad form." He hadn't meant to make her jump. Not really. It was still amusing to watch her start and glare at him before her features softened. He was finding that happening more and more since their return from Neverland. Clearly having her son safe at home was enough to break down a wall or two.

"So is sneaking up on someone" he chuckled and made his way over to the rail to lean on it next to her, simply content to stare out at the ocean with her. She slid a folded over white paper sheet towards him, a crudely drawn hook on the front that looked to be done by a child. It smelled vaguely of a flowery perfume and had creases in places that meant it had been stuffed in a pocket.

"Turning your hand to drawing, Swan?"

"It's from Henry" she shot back with a sour and unimpressed look. "He asked me to give that to you"

He opened the paper and inside, in a child's handwriting, was an invitation to the 'First Annual Storybrooke Disney Movie Night". He had heard talk of these 'movie' things but he had never seen one. He folded the invitation in half carefully and slipped it into his coat.

"And he turned you into a messenger?" Her cheeks flushed prettily and she averted her gaze once more to the water. She picked at the loose threading on a glove while she took a deep breath.

"He thought you would be more willing to say 'yes' if I gave it to you" That explained the unusual folding. His Swan had spent a few hours, perhaps days debating whether to give him the invitation. or at the very least, how to phrase it without appearing to ask him to accompany her to the movie night.

"Aye, he was right" It was barely there, but a hint of a relieved smile lit her face before being pushed back down. "Did the lad get you to deliver Bae-Neal's too?" He averted his gaze to the water as well, trying to keep the conversation causal and gauge the lads intention.

"No. Neal, he...we...He went back to New York for a few days. He needed time away from all the fairytale stuff" Her voice held a note of defeat, her whole posture changing with the mere mention of his name. "He'll be back in a few days" she sounded indifferent and he began to wonder if that was worse than her being angry at him. The indifference was telling.

"Did Henry not want to go with him?" Since discovering his father was alive, Henry and Neal had been near inseparable, every time he saw them they looked as though they were having the best of times. He would have thought Henry would have jumped at a chance for a road trip with his father.

"No. Henry, uh...Henry overheard something that he shouldn't have between me and his father. I think he is still angry." Whether she was aware she was opening up to him or not, he couldn't help but wonder what they had discussed that made the boy not want to accompany his father. He felt apprehension well up inside of him. She was finally opening up to him and here he was, going to push her for more information, likely causing her to clam up.

"What did the lad hear?" She looked up, surprised at his protective tone. She studied his face for a few moments before turning around and leaning her back against the rail.

"It doesn't matter. So you'll be there right? I'd hate to have to tell Henry that his favourite pirate said no" He let her not so subtle change in conversation go. He'd get his answers eventually and if there was one thing 300 years taught him it was patience.

"Aye, wouldn't miss it"

X CS x

It seemed the entire town had turned up. Even Regina and Gold (Henry no doubt pulling the grandfather card there) were seated amongst the rabble; though admittedly set far enough away so that they were basically isolated at the other end of the diner. Henry stood up and said a few words which received polite applause. The lights were dimmed as he sat down and moving pictures were displayed on the wall, a speaker of sorts playing sound.

He had never seen anything of the like in 300 years. Not even with magic. He watched with a childlike fascination as first "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" was shown (the drawfs were particularly vocal about their part) then "Cinderella" followed by "Beauty and the Beast".

The story was entertaining, obviously meant as a child's entertainment and with humiliatingly catchy songs throughout. Whoever this "Disney" man was he had a rather childish imagining of the Enchanted Forrest.

Halfway through some charmingly nauseating number sung by cutlery, his eyes sought out Emma who was beginning to look more and more uncomfortable. She met his eyes almost instantly and offered up a smile and a shrug ("you agreed to this"). His quirk of the eyebrow was rewarded with a slightly brighter smile ("Yes, but _this?!_")

When the Beast had received his happy ending, and he watched as Belle kissed the Crocodile, he again found Emma looking at him. This time there was a mischievous twinkle in her eye, a cruel smirk on her lips which made him very uncomfortable for all the wrong reasons in public. Her eyes flicked to the screen just as the title to "Peter Pan" played.

He mentally cringed. Given the sickeningly watered down versions the other tales had become he only had bad things to think about a movie named after that demon. Nothing, however could have prepared him for the atrocity that he was enduring.

He knew he was being watched. She was paying more attention him than the film, likely looking for a reaction. Yet any amusement he could glean from that was muted by his portrayal on the screen. This was more insulting than the crocodile's beastly counterpart. As quietly as he could without drawing too much attention to himself, he left the diner.

He didn't wander far, knowing that as closely as he was being watched, Emma was sure to follow him outside. He perched himself on the curb and pulled out a flask of rum. It was less than 3 minutes later that Emma sat down next to him, silently reaching out to take the rum from him.

"This is how your world see's me?" The awful clothing, the bad accent, the idea that an actual crocodile was the cause of his nightmares, the cowardice, the bad form...the hair.

"At least you know what a perm is now" She was attempting humour. He found it fell flat. He took the flask back off of her.

"Aye, an entire lifetime of adventure, heartbreak and revenge distilled down to a cowardly moving picture with bad hair" He took several swigs of the rum, trying in vain to cool the anger and humiliation of the entire town seeing him this way.

"It's just a children's film. No one really takes it seriously" she tried to reason. She had been looking forward to seeing him cringe in embarrassment at how he was portrayed, especially after he asked her if he was handsome in the stories back in Neverland. She never thought that he would take it like this.

"So children in this world get taught that Captain Hook was a cowardly villain, who fought children and kidnapped fairies. _You _grew up thinking that." His whole posture was defeated, like every bad thing he had ever thought about himself on a dark night had just been confirmed. She was new to this, he was usually the one giving her a pep talk.

"If it makes any difference, I think you are one of the bravest men I know" She snatched the flask out of his hands and took a gulp of the burning liquid, repairing what it had cost her to say that. She didn't want to take it back, on the contrary, he WAS one of the bravest men she knew. Not many men would willingly sail into the place they see as hell, fight a demon child with a frighteningly manipulative personality and bare his heart and soul to free her ex boyfriend.

He looked at her in amazement, as though those were the nicest words she had ever said to him (and to be honest they probably were). She met his eyes with confidence, willing him to believe her and the small smile and nod of his head in thanks confirmed he did. Eventually, when the emotion of the situation caught up with her she ducked her head away and handed him the flask back.

"Hey, at least you have a story" she said nudging his shoulder with hers. "Mine would be a musical cross between Annie and Oliver with charming musical numbers" she said with a small laugh, imagining animated pickpockets singing about finding a place called home.

"But your name is Emma" He said confused and she couldn't help but laugh. She still forgot that he didn't get cursed along with the rest of them; he had no basic for pop culture references.

"I'm sorry your first experience with movies ended like this"

"S'not your fault Lass, Henry's either. The lad meant well" He had observed the boy laugh along with the rest of the diner at all the movies, and each time he did Hook was reminded that he was still only a boy. Despite everything he had been through, he could still laugh. It was promising.

"He did. He just wanted to do something for everyone. I think he was trying to dis-" she cut off as she once more reached for the rum.

"To distract from his father leaving" he finished for her, knowing how that sentence was going to end. He also noted the empty tone when she had started that sentence.

"He'll be back in a few days"

"You sound less than happy about that fact, love. What did the boy overhear?" The question was one he had been dying to ask. He had noted that there was a tension around them whenever they were together, normally with Henry as a buffer. The lad must have surely picked up on that tension. He was a perceptive boy. No doubt one of the reasons he had chosen to stay and overhear the conversation between his parents.

Emma was silent next to him, staring out at the road. She wanted to answer him. Hook had a hidden talent for drawing out answers from her she really didn't want to give. The closer the two of them got, the easier it was for her to open up. Yet while he asked about her day often, he didn't enquire about her relationship with Neal. That seemed to be where he drew the line, choosing instead to be there for her, as a source of strength, not pressing any advantage he had. Yet again, against her better judgement she found herself answering him

"Neal wanted me to leave stop using magic. Told me that I'd end up as evil and twisted as Regina. That if I kept using magic no one would ever love me because I'd been tainted by magic. That I'd deserve to be alone. Henry overheard. Got quite angry and told Neal he wouldn't go to New York with him"

"Smart lad" It was the tone in which Hook said it that drew Emma's eyes to his. They were cold and hard, edged with a violence that she hadn't seen since Neverland. Yet everything else screamed out protectiveness. He clenched and unclenched his fist as he took a deep breath and forced back the emotion in his eyes.

"You're not going to-"

"No. As much as he may deserve it. You deserve someone who would fight for you, Emma. But me challenging Bae to a fight for your honour? What would that accomplish, Love?"

"Might be fun to watch" She said laughing as she lent her head on his shoulder briefly. That small act having a calming effect on him as his whole body practically melted against hers.

"You should head back inside before someone comes looking for you." She made a non-committal noise as she handed back the flask of rum, dusting down her pants as she stood up facing him.

"You're coming back inside right? The movie's probably over by now. We could both use a coffee to warm up."

"Aye, I'll be in in a moment" The relieved smile that graced her face said more than either of them was willing to admit to that night. Something had changed between them. She could feel it. It was something so small and insignificant that she couldn't identify it, yet she knew without a doubt that that change would lead to something good.

She walked passed him, hand pressed against the diner door before scrunching up her nose and turning back around, bending down and planting a chaste kiss on his cheek.

"Thank you, Hook. For tonight" If she had stuck around she would have seen the first rays of hope blossom behind his eyes as his fingers gingerly touched the place where her lips had been. Maybe he would have to repeat this movie thing sometime. Just them. Maybe the boy too.

* * *

I think the next one is just pure fluff. Guess i'll have to contribute to fluff month after all

R/R?

x


	5. Does Anybody Know

**Does anybody know**

**Prompt: CaptainSwan getting used to sharing a bed after that long sleeping on their own.**

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Warning – Fluff, fluff fluff-ity fluff! And smut – sort of. Implied smut. Mostly.

Disclaimer: Not mine; just playing with them.

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited and followed!

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**Does anybody know**

The first time they share a bed it's an accident. Or that's what she tells herself anyway. He had yet _another_ concussion after teasing the giant and being knocked into a wall whilst drunk on rum. She complained the entire car ride to the hospital, rolling her eyes and humouring him as he rambles on about magic boxes on wheels.

When Whale told her that someone needs to stay with him for 24 hours and check on him every few hours while he sleeps, she tried to order him to keep Hook in the hospital. She really wished she could have punched that amused smirk off of his face as he told her that it was a hospital not a babysitting service. She even tried to pull the 'mom and dad' card.

So she resigned herself to the fact that she was his babysitter for the next 24 hours. She called Regina and she agreed to take Henry for the day. They had come to a nice understanding since Neverland. The true horror of nearly losing Henry had made it abundantly clear to the two women that despite all their faults they both loved Henry unconditionally and that their fighting wasn't good for him. Henry now split his time between his two homes – seeing Neal whenever he wanted. It was a situation that worked. For the most part.

She had to practically drag Hook across the deck of the Roger (her first clue that he wasn't entirely alright) and swatted down his half assed protests that he was a grown man that could take care of himself (the slur of his already sleep heavy voice was the second clue). He fell ungracefully onto his bed despite her efforts to lower him carefully and all but fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow halfway through his "I'm fine".

She dragged a chair across the room and planted it next to his bed, casting a glance his way to check he was still asleep. She checked her watch before heading out of the room to explore the ship. She returned 2 hours later having found every hidden room on the ship and woke him. He attempted to swat her away with his hand and hook before turning on his side, muttering a "sod off" and went back to snoring lightly. She supposed he didn't deserve the poke in the ribs that finally got him lucid enough to answer the set questions and remove his hook. She stayed in the chair next to him then.

She would not admit that she was worried. Each time he woke, he put up no fight. She expected someone with the life he had had to jump awake at the slightest noise ready for a fight. He simply moaned and complained before sliding back into sleep. She dozed softly in the chair, setting her phone alarm to go off every few hours. As the night drew on her back began to hurt from the stiffness of the chair.

Really, it was his fault that she decided to doze on the bed next to him. Hook had begun to mutter in his sleep, tossing and turning and tended to only settle when she laid her hand on his arm and told him that he was okay. She reasoned that she had to be within arms reach of him. No reason she couldn't be comfortable doing it. He only took up half the bed anyway. She even managed to convince herself that gently running her fingers through his hair was simply to check he hadn't hurt his head.

That is how she came to find herself sharing a bed with Captain Hook for the first time. A fact that didn't register until she heard a load shout and a thud as he was propelled out of bed as her arm hit him in the face as she stretched. She didn't complain as she drove him to the hospital that time.

X CS X

The second time they share a bed it was not an accident, it wasn't not planned but it wasn't an accident. She didn't know what it was.

It was her birthday. That much she does remember. A birthday surrounded by her friends, her ever increasing and complicated family and well wishers. The presents were thoughtful and heartfelt, Henry had given her a card he had drawn of her slaying a dragon with a note inside which had her choking up with emotion and pulling him in for a hug.

The combination of all those emotions led to her drinking far too much in order to cope. She remembers Neal taking Henry to his newly acquired flat when he started to get sleepy. She remembers her parents dancing together as though the rest of the world didn't matter. She does** not** remember how she made it to the apartment.

She forgot about how she practically forced Hook to carry her up the stairs because she would burst out laughing on each step. How she sunk to the floor claiming she was drowning as he was forced to pick the lock because she left her purse at the diner. That she burst into tears the minute she was inside the apartment because she didn't know how to show anyone what tonight had meant to her. Or that she melted into his chest as his arms wrapped around her, speaking words of comfort into her hair as he lead her to her bed.

She refused to believe that she wouldn't let go of his hand as he helped her into bed (ever the gentleman), or that she begged him not to leave.

That morning she woke with a start as she felt an arm tighten around her middle, and with a scream of surprise as she lept off the bed sending the other occupant falling to the floor as footsteps sped towards her room.

Her father was the one that punched him that time.

X CS X

The third time they share a bed it's because they had wanted to. They had been casually dating for a few weeks, neither one wanting to push things along faster than necessary.

They had spent the day on the Jolly Roger. He had taught Henry how to fight with a sword like a pirate ("The lad needs to learn how to fight _properly_, Love" ) and she had watched with quiet amusement as he threw the fight and allowed Henry to knock his sword out of his hand. She had tucked him into a bunk in the crews quarters after he insisted that, as he was a member of the crew, he slept where the crew slept, and went to join Hook on deck.

They had sat on the deck after he dropped anchor a little way up the coast, her back leaning against his chest, her head falling onto his shoulder as one of his arms wrapped securely around her and the other pointed out stars to her. His low voice in her ear explaining the stories behind the constellations was like a lullaby to her and before long he suggested retreating to the cabin

They both knew that they were not going to be quiet enough not to wake Henry with their moans so they simply slipped into bed together without pause. They moulded into one another like two puzzle pieces coming together.

When she woke this time it was to his hook pressed against her throat just hard enough to draw the smallest amount of blood, wide, clouded eyes hovering over her with a cold, dark look she hadn't seen since before Neverland, body covered in sweat. She keeps still, knowing any sudden move on her part would mean more blood spilt.

She knows he has nightmares, that the darkness in his life haunts him when he least expects it. He had told her once that she drives the nightmares away. Apparently not completely she thinks as she slowly and deliberately places her hand on his hook, eyes never leaving his as she speaks his name softly.

"Hook, it's me. Emma"

It takes him a few moments, where the cold looks turns confused and then horrified as he draws away from her, launching himself across the room and panting against the table. She forgets the sharp pain at her throat and goes to him, hands brushing against his sweat soaked shoulders. He flinches under the touch and pulls away as though burnt.

He turned to face her, eyes immediately finding the single line of blood that ran down her throat and he looked like he was going to throw up. He reached a shaking thumb out and wiped it away before angling her head to get a closer look in the dark night. It had already stopped bleeding.

"It was an accident. It wasn't your fault" She had tried to reason in a soft voice but he refused to meet her eyes as he stared at the pin sized hole in her throat. The self loathing look he was wearing was enough to break her heart and as she reached out to hold him he pulled away, snatched up his shirt and went out on deck. She had enough sense to know he needed time alone.

She didn't fall back to sleep. She didn't think she could even if she tried. She stays in the cabin until she sees light just starting to peek through the window. She always enjoyed sunrises on the Roger. She heads above deck as quietly as she can not wanting to startle him. Despite all the eye rolls she gives him when he goes on about "gentlemanly behaviour" she knows him to be a good man. The idea that he had hurt her would not sit well with him, even if it was an accident.

He is a sorry site to behold when she spots him behind the wheel. Not moving it, just standing there hands resting on the ancient wood. He looks defeated in a way that she has never imagined and she could not stand by any longer.

She walks up to him with purpose, gripping his good hand and refusing to let him pull it away. She brings the hand up to her cheek and presses a kiss to the palm before closing her eyes and enjoying the feel of his calloused hand against her cheek. She meets his eyes with a confident look, as though there is nothing in the world she believes more than the words she is about to say.

"It was an accident. We just need to remember to take this off next time" she says as she taps his hook softly. His eyes are incredulous, flicking from his hook to her throat and then back to her eyes.

"Next time? Lass there won't be a –" She presses her free hand against his mouth. The self loathing look is back and taking a deep breath is all that stands between her and wrapping her arms around him and never letting go.

"You have never made a decision for me before. Don't start now" He is immediately contrite. He moves his hand away from her cheek to the barely visible reminder that he caused her to bleed.

"Never again" he vows. She doesn't know if he meant to say it aloud or if it was meant to be a silent promise to himself. Either way she knows with absolute confidence that that is the last time he would ever hurt her. The new found confidence is enough to scare her for a fraction of a second before she smiles and crosses one of the two lines that she had refused to cross. She covers his hand with hers and brings the other to his face.

"I know. Killian I –"

"Mom! This is so cool! Look what I found in the crew's quarters" she breaks away from Hooks surprised expression and turns to her son who has found some sort of metal contraption.

They don't get to finish that conversation. Or how she had called him by his name for the first time.

X CS X

The fourth time happens because they are too exhausted to move. It was their first time alone in the apartment in weeks, between a new crime wave in Storybrooke and his insistence that he didn't want to hurt her, they just didn't find themselves alone.

Since she had said his name on the deck of the Jolly Roger he was on a mission to get her to repeat it. Each time she refused she would see a light flash behind his eyes as he concocted a new plan to get her to say it. That light was the only reason she refused. He had his fight back.

Despite scaring the crap out of her on more than one occasion (Henry was grounded when he introduced Hook to fake blood) she refused to say his name again.

Which was why Hook knew he had to play dirty. Literally. He had been teasing her for days. Brushing up against her every chance he got causing her to shiver. Whenever he needed to tell her something he would always do it a hairs breadth from her ear in a voice that would melt stone. The desire in his eyes when he trapped her against cabinets and bars and her desk were only eclipsed by the way he practically moaned her name each time he said it.

When she arrived home from the station to an empty apartment she had planned simply to shower, watch a bad TV show and fall asleep. When there was a knock at the door moments after she placed her eyes on the table she knew who it would be. She also knew her plans for that evening were not going to happen.

She was not consciously aware of making the decision to kiss him. Not that she minded. She simply threw open the door and without pause or preamble dragged him inside and kissed him until they both couldn't remember their names. She had him pressed up against the closed door and his hooked arm holding her as close as he physically could get her and the only word that she could think or say was "bed"

They are both out of their clothes before her legs hit the bed and send them both crashing onto it, his weight falling perfectly between her legs. He was just as much a bastard in bed as she had imagined. Teasing her relentlessly for what felt like hours trying to get her to say his name with that damn smirk on his swollen lips.

When she finally – _finally _– screams it out (because there is only so much a girl can take) he buries himself in her with more passion than she has ever received. He curses against the skin of her neck as he holds himself still waiting for any sign that he has hurt her. Then, just like with everything else about them, they are perfectly in time, the perfect team coming together again and again.

When she finally unwraps her legs from around him and he rolls over onto the bed he unclasps the hook and drops it onto the floor with a dull thud before drawing her into his arms. Her head rests on his chest and neither one has any inclination to move until absolutely necessary.

They wake up that way. Pressed together as close as they can get, legs twisted around each others and fingers locked together over her chest. He presses a kiss against her hair and she brings his hand up to her mouth to do the same. It wasn't until they hear the door open and a voice yelling her name do they even _think _about getting up. It wasn't until the knock on her bedroom door that they actually do get up.

X CS X

If they can help it they never sleep apart, both knowing that without the other there their night's sleep suffers. He gets nervous that she is a wonderful dream cooked up by his dark imagination as a way to torture him. She gets nervous that this time he might not be coming back. The night before their wedding several years later is the last time they spend the night apart. Both vowing in panting breaths never to let the other sleep alone again.

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Oh – I did a fluff thing. ^.^

(I can't just do FLUFF – I don't think I'm capable of it)

R/R?


	6. What We Are Living For

**What we are living for**

**PROMPT: Emma reattaches Hooks hand.**

I tried to make it fluffy. I really did. Angst crept in. SLIGHT spoiler for 3x06

Disclaimer: Not mine. Never will be.

The reviews have been amazing! Thank you all so much!

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Emma Swan was pissed. No. She was so far beyond pissed at this point that the air practically crackled as she stormed onto Hooks ship.

Things were going so well between them. Too well. It was around this time when she expected the other shoe to drop. She couldn't help it. Despite everything he did, all the promises he has kept, there was the nagging voice in her brain which said "Don't get too comfortable". She hated that little voice.

He had been the model of a gentleman since coming back from Neverland. Henry adored him ("Mom, Killian taught me to sail" "Mom Killian taught me how to navigate") Snow was beginning to appreciate him and David and Hook had a weird sort of friendship which involved fist fights and beers.

The amount of times they just found themselves in each other's company was startling. She found herself laughing as often as she found herself rolling her eyes. She cooked him food he had never heard of and he told stories of his adventures. After one incident involving his hook and an electric whisk she had kissed his cheek after wiping off cream with her thumb. It was so domestic she had retreated (hidden) inside her apartment for days.

He was there waiting for her when she left.

He understood what she needed in a way she had never experienced before, and although he never gave up or stopped fighting her for, he always let her have time to process. He made her let go and have fun and she reminded him that he was capable of more than just revenge. Or so she thought.

It was a testament to how much she trusted Hook that the first name that sprang to mind when Gold's store was broken into wasn't his. She had done her duty, placated the incensed store owner who had threatened to handle it himself, interviewed witnesses and then reinterviewed them when 3 of them all said they saw Hook walking away from the shop.

She was surprised by how surprised she was that he had broken into Gold's shop. According to Gold nothing had been stolen. A lie as plain as day but she didn't press it. She was far more likely to get an answer off of Hook than off of Gold. She had hoped that his lo-lust for her would overpower his need for revenge against Gold. The more she thought about it, the more betrayed she felt.

Which is why she practically knocked the door off its hinges as she barged into his cabin

"What the hell were you thin-" The rest of the sentence was cut off when she was faced with the devastation of the cabin.

The wooden table that they had shared many meals on was upturned, its regular contents scattered over the floor. Books were pulled out of the bookcase, loose pages littering the floor. The few pictures that decorated the cabin were crooked and the small window had a hole in it letting the cold Maine air into the cabin. The sheets on the bed were torn, and glass knickknacks collected on his many travels were strewn over the floor. Several bottles of alcohol, leaking its contents over the bare wood, stood between her and the pirate that looked broken on the floor, holding his head in his hand.

Taking a step into the cabin, mindful of the broken glass, she shut the door. His hook was lodged into the wooden panel, obviously torn from its holding when he embedded it in the door. She approached cautiously, making no sudden movements as though she was approaching a frightened animal. She knew he wouldn't hurt her (and didn't that thought frighten her).

"Hook?" She crouched down in front of him trying to draw his cold, lifeless eyes to hers. A sick feeling washed over her as she took him in. He looked wretched. His face was pale and drawn, his eyes looked haunted and for the first time he looked every bit age (give or take a few hundred years). He avoided her eyes, continuing to stare at his lap.

She couldn't have help in the gasp as she followed his gaze down if she had tried. Sitting in his lap, as fresh as the day it was cut off, was his hand. Had this been what he took from Gold's shop? An overwhelming need to punch Gold flooded her and was only held at bay by the bigger urge to draw Hook into her arms.

But she couldn't. As much as he understood and read her, she could do the same to him. She doubts he has been held in over 300 years. So she simply moves the almost empty bottle of rum out of the way and sits down next to him, her shoulder resting against his. A silent show of companionship and strength, a message as clear as any – I'm not going anywhere.

She had no idea how long they had sat there. Not talking, barely touching. Her arse was getting numb, her leg was starting to cramp but she refused to move. In those minutes just watching him she realized that as angry as she had been when she arrived it no longer mattered. She had a pretty good idea what had happened. Given the fact that Hook looked (relatively) unharmed and Gold was his usual smug self she doubted that those two had actually come to blows.

"He had it in the soddin' window" His defeated voice sent a shard of pain shooting right through her heart. Her hand flinched with the effort not to reach out and touch him knowing he wouldn't appreciate it. "On display like a bloody trophy. I just couldn't – I didn't" he sighed.

She nodded her head. If she had seen it she probably wouldn't have been able to walk by leaving it there. Gold had to have known she would find out. Probably why he hadn't mentioned what had been stolen. She didn't know what she was going to do about Gold, but the moment she saw the hand she knew that Hook was not going to be arrested for this.

"Do you- Do you want me to ask Regina if she can put it back?" He got, if possible, paler. It was a stupid thought, she knew. He had probably thought he would never see it again. Though, knowing how twisted Gold was, he really should have known he would have kept it as a trophy. She didn't even know if Regina would agree to attach it. She knew her and Hook had a history. Was it even possible _to_ reattach it?

He didn't answer. Just continued to stare at his hand with haunted eyes, reliving the moment it was taken over and over in his mind. No wonder had had drunk so much she thought. What little she knew about how Milah died was enough to know it didn't touch on the horror of what his memory was providing. She took a deep breath.

"Killian" His eyes snapped to hers in confusion. Leave it to me to use his given name for the first time in a situation like this she scolded herself. "You won't forget her." The flinch she knew was coming still stung. He was as much an open book to her as she was to him. He just used it to his advantage more than her. It was in these rare moments where his walls were laying crumbled at his feet did she feel the need to use it.

He turned his startled glare away from her and visibly swallowed. His hand shaking a little as he reached for the rum she had moved, running it through his hair instead when she refused to give it back.

"300 years I've had a constant reminder of her. If I lose that ..." he held up his stump and she caught it in her hand. He stilled. It was the first time she was seeing it without the hook. The leather holder still covered it but it didn't make her any less determined to show him that it didn't bother her. All the times in Neverland he had been there for her, to give her courage, to give her strength. It was her turn.

_'I didn't think I was capable of letting go of my first love, my Milah' _The words came back to her and made her close her eyes. This was about more than a severed hand he thought he would never get back. She didn't doubt his sincerity to move on. How could she after everything he had done for her? But the reality of letting go was different. She knew that all too well.

It had taken her this long to start to get over Neal. To even contemplate moving on. She had given up her swan charm on her own. She had confessed her secret to Neal in Echo Caves. She was just starting to see a future with herself and Hook.

"Moving on doesn't mean forgetting. The people we love, we never really forget them." She murmured softly to the cold air around them.

"Aye, but magic comes with a price. If that price is forgetting then..."

"You have Neal to remind you of her now and...and I won't let you forget her either" she finished almost too quietly to hear.

He scanned her face for any sign of jealousy and finding nothing but warm sincerity and utter conviction lifted his good hand to lay it over hers on his stump. They sat in silence once more before he sighed, obviously having come to an inner conclusion.

"Would you...Could you?" he nodded down to his hand. She gulped audibly. She could understand why he would ask. Between Gold (who was more than likely inclined to take the other hand) and Regina (who he didn't fancy owing a favour to) she was the only other person that had a hope of attaching his hand.

"Me? But; we could ask the Blue Fairy?" That thought died the moment she said it. He didn't know the Blue Fairy, he didn't trust the Blue Fairy but above all, he didn't want anyone else seeing him this defeated. He simply didn't have the strength to put up a facade around someone new.

She stood up, stretching out the ache in her back and rubbed life back into her legs before she righted the table and chairs from their resting place, he simply watched her curiously. She searched the shelves and chests for an intact bottle of alcohol, finding a small bottle with barely 3 mouthfuls left and leaving it on the table. She walked over to him and held out her hand.

It was such an unconscious move on her part that the significance of it was momentarily lost on her. He looked from her hand to her face a few times before allowing her to help him to his feet, manoeuvring him around the broken trinkets on wobbly legs and sitting him down in one of the chairs, taking the hand out of his possession and resting it on the table between them.

She helped him out of the leather coat and unbuttoned his shirt in an intimate act that she would have laughed at herself for doing days earlier. She gently laid his shirt on the table before unbuckling the clasps that held the holder to his stump. His hand shot out to cover hers before she could undo it.

_You don't have to do this. Love_

She moved her hand out from underneath and squeezed the hand reassuringly

_I know, but I want to_

She rubbed the skin where the leather holder had chaffed, drifting her fingers down his arm and ghosting them over the end, over the ragged and unprofessional scar (Another reason to stay in Storeybrooke she thought). He sat, numbly staring at the hook embedded in the door, refusing to see her reaction to it.

She snagged the alcohol on the way to her chair, and in a move that made his lips quirk slightly opened it with her teeth, spitting the cork onto the floor. She took 1 of the 3 mouthfuls before offering the rest of the bottle to him as she picked up his hand.

She examined it intently, giving him the illusion of privacy as he finished the bottle. It was too well preserved. It even still held dirt under the nails. Her determination to do this was never more firm. She would do this for him if it took her all night. Then she would punch Gold in the face.

She met his eyes, offering one last chance to back out and letting him see her own doubts about her ability to do this.

"I trust you, Love"

And that's what it came down to. He trusted her to see him this open, this hurt. He trusted her to reattach his hand, to honour her promise of never letting him forget Milah. Trusting her with a part of himself he never thought he would get back. _I've yet to see you fail_

"Close your eyes" she uttered gently, reaching for his stump and lining the hand up to the arm as carefully as she could. It would be just her luck to attach it backwards. She didn't know why she wanted his eyes closed. Perhaps to spare herself from seeing the lost look if t didn't work or to spare him from watching her fail.

Gold's advice came back to her and she mentally chuckled at the irony of him giving her the knowledge she needed to reattach Hooks arm. She closed her own eyes and allowed herself to feel. She wanted more than anything to help Hook, to believe in a future of them together. Whether he had a hook or not. She thought about the look on his face when she called him Killian and how she would have to get used to that now he was without a hook.

How he fitted so seamlessly into her life, how she couldn't stand the thought of a day without him. How she went from angry to worried in the time it took her to see him. How he made her want things she thought she would never want again. How he made her feel things she swore never to feel again.

The warm, vibrating feeling was growing in intensity and even her closed eyes could not protect her from the bright golden light that shone through the room. As abruptly as it started it stopped and she tentatively opened her eyes.

"Killian? Open your eyes" He did so slowly. His eyes landed on his newly attached hand and he closed them again before flexing his fingers. Testing each and every one multiple times, bringing it closer to his face to examine it. She sat there watching him in awe.

His hand, his newly attached hand reached out to her, twisting her hair in his fingers reverently, testing the feeling before it slid to her neck and his lips were descending on hers. She didn't fight it. She didn't want to when she felt him smile against her lips. He pulled back and ran his fingers over her cheek, her chin, back to her hair. Simply smiling at her like an idiot. She knew what the kiss was for. He didn't need to say it.

"What do you say we put that hand to good use?" He raised his eyebrow mischievously and she smiled back at him before nodding to the destroyed contents of his cabin.

"Aye, we could do that too" She simply laughed and slapped his shoulder. Everything was going to be okay.

X CS X

It took them a few hours to straighten his cabin out (inbetween him catching her hand with his and squeezing it as though to check it was still real). She persuaded him to come back to town with her, get multiple cups of coffee and explain to Henry why he now had 2 hands. She had called her parents and they were meeting her at the diner.

That was the plan until she had run into Gold. There was no thought behind it, yet to this day she does not regret it. She simply walked up to him and punched him in the face. He had stumbled backwards clutching his nose, the cane falling to the ground as he reached for a post to stop himself falling.

The commotion caused her parents to exit the diner and stand at her back along with Hook who couldn't help but look proudly at her even if he had reflexively drawn his sword.

"Big mistake, Dearie. Deputy, arrest her" he directed to Charming who simply raised his eyebrow at Emma for an explanation. A pointed look at Hook's other hand and David, while hiding the surprise, schooled his features and didn't move.

"Why? I didn't see anything. Did you see anything Snow?" Snow shook her head whilst staring at Hooks hand in astonishment.

"You'll regret this" Gold hissed. Emma had had enough, Gold didn't have all the power anymore, metaphorically or physically.

"No I won't. You won't do anything. Unless you want Henry to know how you kept Hook's hand in display case in your shop. I wonder how Neal would react to that? Or Belle?" He curled his lip at her, before a sinister smile crept over his features before he turned away walked off to lick his wounds.

"Emma" her father just shook his head at her in wonder whilst looking as though he couldn't be more proud of her. Her mother just smiled and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "like father like daughter" before heading back into the diner dragging her husband with her.

Hook looked stunned. Yet held the biggest smile on his face that she had ever seen, she felt herself smiling along with him as she walked up to him.

"Have I ever told you that you're..."

"Bloody brilliant" she finished for him in an immitation of his accent making him chuckle as he reached out to brush a lock of her hair behind her ear, leaving his fingers to linger on her cheek

"Amazing" he insisted moving away from her and linking their hands. Fingers entwined they walked into the diner for what was sure to be the weirdest conversation she had had in a while.

* * *

Wow – that got away from me a big. Ooops.

If you enjoyed leave a review. Or not.

x


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